PRG Alliance organized in August the first edition of its Regional Summit, an event tailored to the regional needs of the Alliance - and the first city chosen for the event was Sao Paulo.

The event received attendees from event agencies and show producers from Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais in the segments of corporate events, concert touring and theater. The occasion was perfect to present the three Brazilian members as part PRG Alliance, the global network of technical production services for events - the companies Crialed, supplier of video solutions and LED screens; LPL, specialist in lighting systems for shows and events; and Loudness with the expertise in audio systems and consulting for events, live recording and special projects.

The event started with the welcome message from Tom Van Hemelryck, Director of the PRG Alliance: "We are happy with the support the three Brazilian members have been providing to the PRG Alliance members. We chose these companies because they have a work philosophy similar to PRG - investing in quality equipment, trained technical staff and growth through collaboration".

After a presentation from the Brazilian members there was a panel discussion on Trends in Technology Production, with the participation of experts in technical direction of auidovisual and lighting: Andreas Schmidt from Audio Bizz, Gian Bortolotti from iBeam; Macgyver Zitto from Produtores Associados; Mauricio Afram from Extratech and Nico Gomes from NGPA-LTDA. The debate had a casual tone where all participants talked openly about the challenges of the Brazilian market and what to expect for the future - "Brazil already receives foreign productions with a high quality technical services, comparable to international standards", says Nico Gomes during the discussions, complemented by the other participants who agreed that the biggest challenge for the future is the investment in specialized human resources - "Today we already have a high demand for technical professionals in this sector, and I believe this demand will increase with time. I am confident that the Brazilian companies will keep up with the technological updates in equipment. What we all have to pay attention is the investment in humam capital to have the capacity to serve the large productions coming to the country", says Macgyver Zitto.

The event finished with a closed session for the members with a workshop in International Rigging Standards and a demo of the new Icon Beam lights - this knowledge will benefit directly the entertainment industry in Brazil since all the learning will be applied in local productions.

PRG Alliance is producing two other regional events for its members in the coming months, in Hamburg and in Shanghai, bringing information exchange and workshops to all members in the EMEA and Asia regions.